


Composure Remedy

by Tamasha



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anxiety, Established Relationship, Gay, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Modern Era, One Shot, Panic Attacks, Relationship(s), Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-31
Updated: 2015-07-31
Packaged: 2018-04-12 07:49:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4471175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamasha/pseuds/Tamasha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin has a panic attack while he is at work, but when he calls Arthur, his boyfriend knows just how to make him feel better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Composure Remedy

**Author's Note:**

> written by Tamara

Four more hours. That's it. It wouldn't be so bad. Okay, logically Merlin knew this. And logically, Merlin had no reason to worry. Yep. No reason... So then he must be going crazy. Only crazy people sat in the upstairs bathroom at work, alone, ready to cry because they couldn't take four more measly hours of work. It's Friday, Merlin reminded himself. There was absolutely no reason for this sudden change of mood. He was going to see Jurassic World with Arthur tonight, so he should be excited.

Or maybe that's why he was nervous.

God. Merlin was a baby. He had a half hour left of his break, and he was probably going to spend it in the bathroom convincing himself not to cry. Arthur would make it better though. He would remind Merlin of something fantastic to get his mind off of whatever was troubling him. Arthur was good like that. No matter what level of panic Merlin found himself in, Arthur would be there to calm him.

And he was good at it too. Gwen tried, but she always made it worse. She always tried to explain why it was ridiculous for him to feel nervous. But that just intensified it because then Merlin felt as if he was going insane.

Like he was now.

Get a grip, Merlin scolded himself.

He pulled out his phone and texted Arthur. He was sure to be busy, though he got off work long before Merlin did. He would certainly still have work in front of him at his table till Merlin came over after his shift. It was their routine now, after dating for three months. They had fallen into a comfortable rhythm in their relationship that made Merlin nervous. Not in a way that meant he would be running for the hills anytime soon, but in a way that made him want to stay forever. What if this was forever? What if Arthur was the last relationship Merlin ever had?

Really time to get a grip.

Merlin punched in Arthur’s number by memory. The phone rang for long enough for Merlin to worry that Arthur wouldn’t pick up.

"Hey, how's your break?" Arthur sounded more energetic than Merlin had heard him in weeks. He must have signed that deal he was hoping to sign.

Merlin held back his sob. The cold floor beneath him was becoming noticeably uncomfortable, but he stayed put, in an attempt not to overwhelm himself. "I want to go home. But I can’t. We are already short today and there aren't even enough servers to take all the sections. I just want to go home. I don’t want to do anything the rest of the day."

"Hm." Arthur hummed, as if Merlin ranting was the most normal thing in the world. "You know, Jurassic World is going to be really boring without you."

Merlin knew what he was doing, but he didn’t care, he totally took the bait. "Don't you dare go without me, you clotpole!"

Arthur chuckled into the receiver. "I love you, you know?"

That was the first time Arthur had actually said the words. When Merlin said them to him for the first time last night Arthur’s response was: "Yeah, I figured. You're the best." Probably the worst response on paper, but coming from Arthur, it was a lot.

But then he actually just said the words. Like for real, using adult human English language, Arthur Pendragon said, "I love you."

"Wow," Merlin breathed, already forgetting what had sent him into a panic. "I can’t believe you just said that."

"Shut up, Merlin." Arthur’s tone was full of longing and fondness. Merlin couldn’t take him seriously even if he wanted to.

"I love you too, Arthur." Merlin brought himself to his feet and wiped off his uniform automatically. "Thank you."

There was no hesitation in his voice - "No problem, M."

Then Merlin hung up, took a look at himself in the mirror, and for the first time in the past hour, he smiled, finally composed.

**Author's Note:**

> This happened to me, almost. I wrote this story while I was coming down from a panic attack at work. I pretty much just put Merlin in my situation, as I sometimes do, and wrote from there. Writing this actually made me feel so much better.


End file.
